I learned an unexpected lesson about praying as I poked through discounted pants at the store recently. I heard a small but confident little girl call out repeatedly, “Abba!” I knew the word, meaning “daddy,” from the Gospels but hadn’t heard it used in regular conversation until then.
The little girl must have been from an Arabic-speaking family, and she was playing hide-and-seek with her Abba. Dad was pretending to hide back by the Dockers but was not hiding very hard. He wanted her to find him. For a moment, I had an unexpected glimpse into the playful intimacy the two shared.
“One day, Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, ‘Lord, teach us to pray’ ...” Luke 11:1a NIV.
It always seemed weird to me that the disciples never asked Jesus, “Lord, teach us to preach.” Yet, this is the guy who preached the Sermon on the Mount.
They did say, more than once, “Lord, teach us to pray.”
And I’ll tell you, if there’s any prayer that needs to be prayed in the church of God today, as far as I’m concerned, it is, “Lord, teach us to pray.” (Leonard Ravenhill)
The disciples had seen Jesus praying many times. They knew prayer was an essential part of his life. He seemed to exhibit that same intimacy with the Father that the little girl had with her father. However, they must have noticed something about the way He prayed that was different. It made them want to learn how.
We get some insight into Jesus’ prayer life in an earlier chapter. Jesus was ”full of joy through the Holy Spirit” praying, ”I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth…” Luke 10:21a.
It is no wonder that the disciples wanted to learn!
The disciples were faithful Jews. Because of that, they would have prayed many Jewish prayers and had since they were very young.
Jews prayed at sunrise, at about 3 pm, and again at sunset. They recited the Jewish creed (Deuteronomy 6:4–7), blessings, and prayers sung as hymns. The disciples already had a very active life of prayer! Then they watched Jesus. They heard him praying and wanted more. They wanted to pray as He did.
Rarely do you hear someone confess that their prayer life is very good and doesn’t need much improvement. Prayer can often be one of our biggest struggles. On the other hand, it can be our greatest source of comfort and joy. When we ask God to “teach us to pray,” He doesn’t give us new “techniques” to master or a script to learn. God won’t grade your prayers or laugh off any prayer as too trivial to bother with Prayer is simply learning to know God better. Just talking and listening for his love and guidance. Prayer is about growing in our relationship with Him. When we struggle with prayer, we can always ask Jesus—as the disciples did—“Lord, teach us to pray!”
When you pray, try praying with the same confidence that animated the little girl as she called out to her father. No parent would play a cruel game of hide-and-seek with a child and never let them win. So, we are invited to go to our Abba with hearts open to see His kingdom when it appears, and his will being done. We are asked to receive daily bread and give and receive forgiveness when it is needed. We never have to approach God like reluctant beggars looking for a handout, but as His children are confident that winding up empty-handed is never our lot.
It always seemed weird to me that the disciples never asked Jesus, “Lord, teach us to preach.” Yet, this is the guy who preached the Sermon on the Mount.
They did say, more than once, “Lord, teach us to pray.”
And I’ll tell you, if there’s any prayer that needs to be prayed in the church of God today, as far as I’m concerned, it is, “Lord, teach us to pray.” (Leonard Ravenhill)
The disciples had seen Jesus praying many times. They knew prayer was an essential part of his life. He seemed to exhibit that same intimacy with the Father that the little girl had with her father. However, they must have noticed something about the way He prayed that was different. It made them want to learn how.
We get some insight into Jesus’ prayer life in an earlier chapter. Jesus was ”full of joy through the Holy Spirit” praying, ”I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth…” Luke 10:21a.
It is no wonder that the disciples wanted to learn!
The disciples were faithful Jews. Because of that, they would have prayed many Jewish prayers and had since they were very young.
Jews prayed at sunrise, at about 3 pm, and again at sunset. They recited the Jewish creed (Deuteronomy 6:4–7), blessings, and prayers sung as hymns. The disciples already had a very active life of prayer! Then they watched Jesus. They heard him praying and wanted more. They wanted to pray as He did.
Rarely do you hear someone confess that their prayer life is very good and doesn’t need much improvement. Prayer can often be one of our biggest struggles. On the other hand, it can be our greatest source of comfort and joy. When we ask God to “teach us to pray,” He doesn’t give us new “techniques” to master or a script to learn. God won’t grade your prayers or laugh off any prayer as too trivial to bother with Prayer is simply learning to know God better. Just talking and listening for his love and guidance. Prayer is about growing in our relationship with Him. When we struggle with prayer, we can always ask Jesus—as the disciples did—“Lord, teach us to pray!”
When you pray, try praying with the same confidence that animated the little girl as she called out to her father. No parent would play a cruel game of hide-and-seek with a child and never let them win. So, we are invited to go to our Abba with hearts open to see His kingdom when it appears, and his will being done. We are asked to receive daily bread and give and receive forgiveness when it is needed. We never have to approach God like reluctant beggars looking for a handout, but as His children are confident that winding up empty-handed is never our lot.